One Pot French Onion Pasta

Published: Apr 27, 2023 » Modified: Jul 15, 2024 by Haley » This post may contain affiliate links

This one pot French Onion Pasta recipe is perfectly reminiscent of French onion soup – loaded with jammy caramelized onions, with pasta cooked right in the pot in a combination of beef broth and water. Finished with a bit of heavy cream and gruyere cheese, it’s the perfect cozy meal.

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Ingredients
Step by step instructions
Tips and tricks
Ingredient variations
What to serve with French Onion Pasta
Storage and reheating
FAQs
More pasta recipes
📖 Recipe

Ingredients

Most of these ingredients for French onion pasta are identical to French onion soup, and that’s on purpose, I wanted to mirror that delicious rich flavor! It's a creamy and different way to enjoy all the same flavors you love.

Pasta: Any short pasta works. I like to use mezze rigatoni (basically shorter rigatoni).
Onions: 3 large yellow onions. Likely more than you think because as they caramelize they break down quite a bit.
Butter and olive oil: Unsalted butter to add flavor, and olive oil so the butter doesn’t burn.
Garlic: A few minced cloves of garlic are added towards the end of caramelizing onions to bring more flavor.
Thyme: Plenty of fresh thyme balances the decadence of the caramelized onions.
Dry white wine: Deglazing with a dry white wine adds a bit of acidity that is much needed in this dish.
Worcestershire sauce: For depth of flavor, this brings a hit of salty umami-ness.
- Soy sauce can work in a pinch if you do not have worcestershire sauce.
Beef stock: Low sodium beef stock (or beef broth) is ideal so you can control the salt levels. The pasta gets boiled right in the stock so it’s a perfect homage to the classic French onion soup.
- You could also use chicken stock (or chicken broth), but you’ll lose out on some of the classic soup flavors.
Water: One cup of water in addition to the beef stock.
Heavy cream: This gets added at the end to make the dish a little creamy.
Gruyère cheese: Grated gruyere is melted in at the end alongside the heavy cream – another homage to the soup recipe (for the soup usually gruyere is toasted on bread and put on top).

Step by step instructions

Overview

Caramelize the onions
Add garlic and thyme
Deglaze with wine
Add worcestershire, salt, and pepper
Add broth water and pasta, simmer until pasta is cooked
Stir in heavy cream and gruyere

Detailed instructions

1. Caramelize the onions. Heat a large dutch oven or deep large skillet over medium heat. Melt butter with the oil until warmed. Add all the sliced onions. Toss them to coat in the butter and oil. Sauté, stirring rather frequently (every 3ish minutes) for about an hour until they are deep golden brown color and jammy. It’s okay if a little is sticking to the bottom of the pot, but if it is excessive and they are burning, add a little bit more oil or even 1-2 tablespoon water.

2. Add the garlic and thyme. Once the onions are caramelized, add the minced garlic and chopped thyme. Sauté for about 3-4 minutes until very fragrant.

Caramelizing the onions and adding garlic and thyme.

3. Deglaze. Pour the wine in and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon making sure to get up all the brown bits as it simmers and is absorbed / evaporated, about 1-2 minutes.

4. Add worcestershire sauce, salt, and black pepper. Finish the caramelized onions by adding the worcestershire sauce and salt.

Deglazing with wine and adding worcestershire sauce.

5. Add liquid and cook the pasta. Into the same pot, add the beef broth, water, and dry uncooked pasta. Stir to combine and try to get as much pasta submerged as you can. Bring it up to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring very frequently, until the pasta is al dente and a good amount of the liquid has evaporated – about 8-10 minutes. There will still be a bit of liquid, it’ll continue to thicken as you add the cheese and cream.

6. Stir in cream and cheese. Remove the pot from the heat and add the heavy cream and shredded gruyere cheese. Mix together until fully incorporated and creamy.

Adding dry pasta and cooking, then finishing with gruyere and cream.

Tips and tricks

One pot pasta recipes are winners all around, but below notes can provide a bit more detail.

The best way to cut onions for caramelizing them:
- Cut off the stem and root
- Cut in half top to bottom (in the direction of stem to root)
- Peel off the outer layer
- Place the onion flat side down (the center cut)
- Cut thin slices against the grain
  - Against the grain in this case is left to right following the arch of the onion (so not where was already exposed after you’ve cut in half)
Deglazing with white wine is optional, but the added acidity is a must. If you are alcohol-free (although it cooks off) you could do a small splash of apple cider vinegar or sherry vinegar instead.
Really spend the time to let the onions caramelize; their flavor deepens and gets deliciously sweet the longer they cook.
Once you’ve added the pasta, stir very often otherwise it’ll stick to the bottom.
I don’t think this will happen, but if the liquid gets too low as you cook the pasta, just add more stock or water! The water will evaporate and absorb into the pasta so it will get less and less, but if you really need more, just add a little bit at a time.
Shred your own cheese to avoid any additives that prevent it from melting to the fullest extent of its creaminess.
You can cook the caramelized onions in advance – follow the first 4 steps (through adding the worcestershire salt and pepper). Then let the mixture cool and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. When you’re ready to finish the dish, add the mixture to the pot with the beef stock, water, and pasta and continue as instructed. If you do this, the recipe should really only take 15 minutes.
Since caramelizing onions is no quick task, you can make a bigger batch and save some to use in recipes like caramelized onion and bacon pizza, and caramelized onion and apple grilled cheese.

Ingredient variations

Make it vegetarian by using vegetable stock (or vegetable broth).
Make it gluten free by using your favorite gluten free pasta.
If you want to add meat I’d recommend serving with some crispy chicken cutlets.
Adding sliced mushrooms when you add the garlic is a great vegetable addition.
Give it a bit of heat by adding some red pepper flakes when you add the garlic.

What to serve with French Onion Pasta

Garlic bread, always
Crispy chicken cutlets (as mentioned above!)
A simple green salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil
Hearty meatballs

Finished pot of french onion soup pasta.

Storage and reheating

This French onion soup pasta is quite delicious reheated, so definitely save any leftovers (if you even have any).

Storage: Let the pasta cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezing: Let the pasta cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Reheating: Warm in the microwave for a few minutes or on the stovetop on low heat. If it needs to be loosened up a bit, add a splash of beef stock or water.

FAQs

What do I do if my onions start to burn?

Lower the heat a bit and add a splash of water.

How do I know when my onions are fully caramelized?

Caramelizing onions definitely take time, so patience is key. They will go from translucent, to golden, to totally caramelized. When they are fully caramelized, they will be jammy and super soft, and a deep amber color. It really takes an hour.

Can I use red onions instead of yellow?

Yes sure.

What’s a good dry white wine to use for cooking?

Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc are great options.

Can I double this recipe?

You can, but don’t double the stock to begin with. Just 1.5x to start and add more as needed.

More pasta recipes

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📖 Recipe